March 21, 2022 Newsletter

Dear Friends,

Tangents:  Spring is officially here!
Noruz – new day, Zoroastrian.

On March 21, 1965, more than 3,000 civil rights demonstrators led by the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. began their march from Selma to Montgomery, Ala.  Visit article

2019: New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern announces a ban on military-style semiautomatic weapons, 6 days after the Christchurch terrorist attack.
Johann Sebastian Bach, b.1685.
 
Here’s the annual list of most popular dog breeds.  Hint: Husky didn’t make the list this year! Do you think you can guess the most pawpular dog breeds?

Mila Kunis and Ashton Kutcher raise $30 million in donations for Ukrainian refugees.  Fun fact: Mila Kunis was born in Ukraine in the 80s. Major props to this celeb duo for organizing the massive relief effort.

Area ancient pool is actually a fertility god’s shrine. (h/t Scott Kominers)

PHOTOS OF THE DAY

People takes photos in front of cherry blossoms in Ueno Park in the Japanese capital
CREDIT: Philip Fong/AFP/Getty Images

Kashmiri Shia Muslims assemble outside the shrine of Peer Syed Mehndi during Nowruz, the Persian new year
CREDIT: Mukhtar Khan/AP

People celebrate Nowruz, considered as the harbinger of spring, awakening of nature and brotherhood, with traditional costumes at Gobustan National Park. People from different regions of Azerbaijan attended celebration with colorful dresses and various music groups performed
CREDIT: Resul Rehimov/Anadolu Agency/Getty Images

Market Closes for March 21^st, 2022

International Markets

Bonds

Currencies

Commodities

Market Commentary:
On this day in 1924, the Massachusetts Investors Trust, the first open-end mutual fund, was founded in Boston by Edward G. Leffler, a former aluminum cookware salesman, and investment bankers Hatherly Foster, Jr., and Charles H. Learoyd. The minimum initial purchase of five shares cost $262.50, or $2.50 less than the price of a new Ford Model T runabout.
Canada
By Stefanie Marotta
(Bloomberg) — Canadian equities rose for the fifth day to close at a third consecutive record high as energy and materials stocks soar.
The S&P/TSX Composite climbed 0.9%, or 190.66 to 22,009.13 in Toronto.
Nutrien Ltd. contributed the most to the index gain, increasing 5.9%.
Lithium Americas Corp. had the largest increase, rising 8.1%.
Today, 133 of 239 shares rose, while 103 fell; 6 of 11 sectors were higher, led by energy stocks.
Insights
* This quarter, the index rose 3.7%
* This month, the index rose 4.2%
* The index advanced 17% in the past 52 weeks. The MSCI AC Americas Index gained 12% in the same period
* The S&P/TSX Composite is 0.1% below its 52-week high on March 21, 2022 and 19.2% above its low on March 25, 2021
* The S&P/TSX Composite is up 3.9% in the past 5 days and rose 4.8% in the past 30 days
* S&P/TSX Composite is trading at a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.6 on a trailing basis and 14.3 times estimated earnings of its members for the coming year
* The index’s dividend yield is 2.6% on a trailing 12-month basis
* S&P/TSX Composite’s members have a total market capitalization of C$3.47t
* 30-day price volatility rose to 13.22% compared with 13.04% in the previous session and the average of 13.49% over the past month
================================================================
| Index Points | |
Sector Name | Move | % Change | Adv/Dec
================================================================
* Energy | 102.9982| 3.0| 33/1
* Materials | 72.2208| 2.5| 45/6
* Financials | 20.8994| 0.3| 14/14
* Industrials | 7.7791| 0.3| 16/14
* Utilities | 3.7383| 0.4| 8/8
* Communication Services | 0.7493| 0.1| 4/3
* Information Technology | -0.7485| -0.1| 7/9
* Health Care | -3.3089| -2.3| 0/8
* Consumer Staples | -3.8706| -0.5| 3/8
* Real Estate | -4.5482| -0.7| 2/19
* Consumer Discretionary | -5.2421| -0.7| 1/13
================================================================
| | |Volume VS |
| Index | | 20D AVG |YTD Change
Top Contributors |Points Move| % Change | (%) | (%)
================================================================
* Nutrien | 27.8100| 5.9| -11.2| 39.2
* Canadian Natural Resources | 19.0400| 3.1| 131.2| 47.4
* Suncor Energy | 17.3700| 4.5| -40.3| 29.1
* Waste Connections | -2.1320| -0.7| -66.0| 0.2
* Couche-Tard | -2.3450| -0.8| -42.0| -0.6
* West Fraser Timber | -5.8710| -7.1| 69.5| -4.3

US
By Isabelle Lee and Peyton Forte
(Bloomberg) — Jerome Powell’s renewed hawkish message roiled financial markets, sending Treasury yields spiking higher as the Federal Reserve looks poised to raise interest rates sharply to tamp down inflation.
The two-year Treasury rate surged almost 20 points to its highest level since 2019, while the three-year and 10-year yields jumped by the most since March 2020 after the Fed chair said the central bank will take the “necessary steps” to get  price increases under control.
Stocks initially sold off as the chairman spoke, but almost erased all losses with a late-session rebound.
The ructions in the Treasury market narrowed the rate spread among maturities, in a sign that the bond market is anticipating the Fed’s restrictive moves could tip the economy into recession.
“As the Fed progresses down this path of both hiking rates and shrinking their balance sheet, there will be no such thing as a soft landing,” wrote Peter Boockvar, chief investment officer at Bleakley Advisory Group. “The only question is how much of an economic slowdown are they willing to tolerate in order to quell consumer price inflation at the same time asset price inflation deflates along with balance sheet shrinkage.”
The losses added to the question of whether last week’s stock rebound and drop in volatility would last.
European equities, which were higher on Monday, have already recouped all of their losses triggered by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine nearly a month ago as the lure of cheapened valuations has drawn
investors back.
Still, a historic spike in commodity prices on supply concerns shows little sign of easing, keeping traders on high alert over inflation.
The war in Ukraine and resulting sanctions against Russia have sent the raw-materials markets into a tailspin, with the potential for shortages in key commodities like oil and wheat.
West Texas Intermediate oil rose above $110 a barrel on Monday as Ukraine rejected a Russian demand to lay down arms and leave Mariupol.
Meanwhile, the bond market continues to flash caution about the economy.
The Treasury yield curve is flattening, and portions are inverted, which for some is an indicator of a looming economic slowdown.
The 10-year U.S. yield climbed to about 2.30%, the highest in over two years.
“We do now see a higher risk of the Fed slamming the brakes on the economy as it may have talked itself into a corner,” Jean Boivin, head of markets research at BlackRock Investment Institute, wrote in a note.
The cost to growth and employment could be high, if the Fed were to fully deliver on its rate path, he said.
Here are some key events this week:
* European Central Bank President Christine Lagarde among central bank speakers at the BIS innovation summit, Tuesday to March 23
* EIA crude oil inventory report, Wednesday
* Bank of England Governor Andrew Bailey, Fed Chair Powell speak at BIS panel, Wednesday
* U.K. Chancellor Rishi Sunak’s “Spring Statement” on the budget, Wednesday
* U.S. President Joe Biden attends NATO emergency summit in Brussels, Thursday
* Eurozone Markit PMIs, Thursday
* U.S. initial jobless claims, U.S. durable goods, Thursday

Some of the main moves in markets:
Stocks
* The S&P 500 was little changed as of 4:07 p.m. New York time
* The Nasdaq 100 fell 0.3%
* The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.6%
* The MSCI World index fell 0.2%
Currencies
* The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index rose 0.2%
* The euro fell 0.3% to $1.1014
* The British pound fell 0.1% to $1.3161
* The Japanese yen fell 0.3% to 119.49 per dollar
Bonds
* The yield on 10-year Treasuries advanced 15 basis points to 2.30%
* Germany’s 10-year yield advanced 10 basis points to 0.47%
* Britain’s 10-year yield advanced 14 basis points to 1.64%
Commodities
* West Texas Intermediate crude rose 7.3% to $112.34 a barrel
* Gold futures rose 0.3% to $1,940.50 an ounce
–With assistance from Vildana Hajric, Emily Graffeo and Cecile Gutscher.
Have a lovely evening.

Be magnificent!
As ever,

Carolann

You can easily judge the character of a man by how he treats those who can do nothing for him. -James D. Miles.

Carolann Steinhoff, B.Sc., CFP®, CIM, CIWM
Senior Investment Advisor

Queensbury Securities Inc.,
St. Andrew’s Square,
Suite 340A, 730 View St.,
Victoria, B.C. V8W 3Y7

Tel: 778.430.5808
(C): 250.881.0801
Toll Free: 1.877.430.5895
Fax: 778.430.5828
www.carolannsteinhoff.com